We recently had the chance to review Elementary 4-5, Book 2: Color and Composition, by ARTistic Pursuits. ARTistic Pursuits is a company that provides art lessons including drawing, painting, and sculpture for homeschoolers from preschool through high school. I used this fantastic art book with Ryan, who is currently in the 5th grade.

Unfortunately in trying to cover reading, writing, science, history, and arithmetic during our busy days, art is something that can fall to the wayside but I really do feel like it’s an essential part of a well-rounded education. After all, God is the ultimate Artist and Creator…if beauty is important to Him, then it should be important to us! I believe that studying art and creating our own “masterpieces” can help us to focus on the beauty around us.

How often do we rush through each day, never taking the time to stop and see the splendor of God’s creation?

If you’re looking for a fun, yet thorough art curriculum for your homeschool (to help you and your kids slow down and notice the beauty around you 🙂 ), ARTistic Pursuits may just be what you’re looking for!

1) The first lesson helps the student to connect to real-world experiences, make their own observations, and build their vocabulary. The book includes gorgeous color pictures and descriptions. We enjoyed seeing examples of other students’ artwork!

2) The second lesson includes art appreciation and art history. Book 2: Color and Composition includes beautiful copies of works by American artists. A section titled “The Times” follows each artist’s information and helps the student think about what life may have been like during that artist’s life and how he or she may have been influenced by the world around them.

3) The third lesson teaches the student actual techniques. The students get to practice using tools of art and materials to create their own artwork. Materials needed for Elementary 4-5, Book 2: Color and Composition include:

watercolor pencil set of 12

#8 watercolor brush round

sketch pad for drawing

vinyl eraser

metal handheld pencil sharpener

These materials may be purchased at your local art supply store or you can purchase kits directly from ARTistic Pursuits if you don’t have time to shop for supplies (or just like the convenience of having everything shipped right to your front door)!

4) The fourth lesson includes completing a final project using the skills the students have learned. The directions for each project are clearly given. There is a review box after each lesson called “Look Back”, which helps the student confirm that they have followed the instructions correctly and have captured the point of the project.

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ARTistic Pursuits recommends scheduling art class 2 times per week (about an hour per session), but of course you can work out a schedule that works best for your family. Twice a week seemed to work out great for us!

A rubric for evaluating artwork in order to assign letter grades is available at the end of the book.

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The lessons in Elementary 4-5, Book 2: Color and Composition are well-written and easy to read. Most days, I just put the book and any materials needed into Ryan’s workboxes and he was able to complete the assignment on his own! It was fun to just let him go to town and see what he created when he was finished. Below is one of my favorites:

This lesson covered drawing lines with colored pencils to show texture of fur (or in Ryan’s case – feathers).

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Here’s a quick slideshow showing several of his other projects:

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And….this pictures says it all 🙂 :

Check out ARTistic Pursuits on Facebook and click the picture below to read reviews of some of their other wonderful art programs:

Friday, after our tour of Stevie B’s we headed out to Rockahock Campground in Lanexa, VA for the weekend. They were hosting Rockfest, which is a Christian concert featuring different groups. We had tickets to see About a Mile, City Harbor, and Sidewalk Prophets that night.

Well, the concert was supposed to be held in a covered outdoor dome, but it there was a huge thunderstorm and not many people in the audience so the groups all came inside the clubhouse. They all played acoustically and sang without a microphone…and IT WAS AWESOME!!! We were right there with them and everyone was singing along and worshiping together!

What a cool, intimate experience! The groups were all soooo good– if you ever have a chance to see them in person, it is an experience that you don’t want to miss!

We got to take a private tour of one of our favorite pizza restaurants, Stevie B’s this morning. We had lots of fun learning some fun facts, trivia, and history of pizza. Dave C. was a fantastic and FUN “tour guide” 🙂 ! After our tour, the kids had a dough sculpture contest and then got to enjoy some delicious pizza!